Keeping local kids front and center despite a sports hiatus

Right now is a time when many high school athletes would be throwing and hitting a baseball or softball, kicking a soccer ball, playing golf or tennis, running track or participating in some kind of sport.

But with COVID-19 (coronavirus) putting sports on hold for the moment, these young men and women are unable to perform in their respective sports.

High school athletes are still holding out hope that they will be able to eventually resume competition, but the reality is that it may not happen. That would mean that seniors would never get the opportunity to compete at the high school level again, basically having their careers ended for them prematurely.

A lot of those athletes and their families would be able to pick up the newspaper or go online and see photos and articles of those athletes and teams each day during this time.

While the games have stopped, we don’t want the coverage of our local student-athletes to stop.

For now, we want to get to know those senior athletes who participate in spring sports. We want their families to be able to look at the paper and see their favorite high school student’s name and photo.

If you are an East Texas senior who participates in a spring sport, please take a moment to fill out the following questionnaire and sending it along with a photo of yourself to jstallard@news-journal.com. You can also reach out to me on Twitter: @lnjsports.

Name:

School:

Parents names:

Brothers/sisters:

Sports you play:

Favorite high school sports memory:

Plans after high school:

If college, what schools are you considering, and what do you plan to major in?